That they are not here does not matter, though. There is a new wave of stars taking over, and fans would rather see those guys. Players like Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, New York Mets ace (and National League starter) Matt Harvey and Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman are taking over; all of them younger than 25, and all of them are All-Stars for the first or second time.

“It’s pretty cool to have some young guys up here like Machado, Harper, Harvey,” Trout said Monday. “There’s an excitement we are bringing to the game. We play fearless. It’s fun for us.”

It’s fun for fans, too. And it’s a wonderful development for baseball, a sport that too often loses young participants to basketball and football, sports that are more stylish and allow personalities to show—for better or worse. Those sports gain popularity while baseball struggles to keep young fans engaged outside Latin American countries.

This group of youngsters has given the sport a spark it hasn’t had in a while. Not that the game was dull or boring, but it needed a change. It needed new faces to root for. It’s also great that some of the best either can’t legally drink alcohol or have only been able to for about a year: Trout is 21, Harper is 20 and Machado turned 21 on July 6.

A 22-year-old non-All-Star, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, has taken the game by storm since making his major league debut last month. He was included in MLB’s Final Vote poll for the last NL roster spot. Puig lost the balloting to Freeman, who is 23.

“I’ll be 38 Thursday, and the older you get the more you realize the game is getting younger,” said Detroit Tigers right fielder Torii Hunter, who joked he is actually going to be 28 before delivering another barb at the younger generation. “I’m going to soak this game in and get to know these young guys because one day I’ll be on TV and have to talk about these guys and how they (stink) and how good I was.”

The truth is the game is in the fantastic care of kids who still needed babysitters when Hunter made his major league debut in 1997. Trout did not win the American League MVP Award last season, but he probably should have. Harper was the NL Rookie of the Year and looks like an MVP candidate in the making. Machado is an unreal fielder while playing out of position at third base and just might set the single-season doubles record this year. Puig had people screaming for his inclusion in this game even though he had been in the majors barely more than a month.

“It seems like every team has a guy who is an ace or can throw in the mid-90s and is in his young 20s,” Giants and NL manager Bruce Bochy said.

A-Rod, Jeter and Pujols were the guys these new stars grew up watching, but it’s now their turn to be watched, and they are doing a fine job of attracting eyeballs.

The hype around Harper might have been obnoxious, but it was good for the game.

Trout showed he didn’t need the hype to make his name.

Puig’s on-field attitude might draw ire from the retirement homes and traditionalists, but he and Harper show the game can be played with joy, bravado and pizzazz while still being played hard.

People who want those guys to stop playing so recklessly for fear of injury don’t get that that recklessness is the reason they are so appetizing, so intriguing, so sellable to the next generation of fans who are seeing that this game can appeal to them.

“Compared to my first All-Star Game when I saw so many veterans, the game is so young right now,” Colorado Rockies All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. “This stands out and makes fans catch on to these young guys. The game of baseball needs new faces, new superstars, and I think we have that right now.

“You look at Trout, Machado, Harper and they aren’t just good but you can see they are going to be good for a long time.”

They are also the reason the old guys on their way out the door won’t be missed too much, and why the game is about to get younger in the stands as well as on the field.